Meet the Texas teen whose ‘career goal’ is to become Disney’s next CEO

Texas Tech University student Cori Borgstadt wants to prove Walt Disney right when he said: if you can dream, you can do it.

“I wouldn’t say I’m after [Bob Iger’s] job. It’s definitely been something I think about, when I was a younger kid, about being CEO someday,” Borgstadt said on “The Big Money Show” Thursday. “The headlines are saying, ‘the next CEO,’ I know as a freshman that’s really not feasible because there’ll probably be a CEO after him and another CEO by the time I’m getting my degree, and so I’m just kind of thinking one step ahead.”

Borgstadt and her family have been Disney fans since she and her sister were little kids – visiting the parks, watching the movies and even owning company shares. The childhood memories and timeless enthusiasm has led the 18-year-old to set her career sights on becoming CEO someday.

“I’m sure Mr. Iger has seen the news stories. I even asked him one time a question about what advice you would give to a kid like me who might want to have his job someday,” the college freshman said. “So I wouldn’t say I’m after his job, but I would definitely say it’s a career goal that I sometimes look towards.”

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Around the age of three, Borgstadt’s grandmother bought her a singular share of Disney stock with hopes it would grow as a valuable asset. Since she loved all things Disney, Bortgstadt’s parents allegedly started taking the toddler to shareholder meetings, too.

“One day my mom was like, ‘We should attend that Disney shareholders meeting because [the kids] are shareholders too.’ And of any company, they would be the most welcoming to children as a family company,” Borgstadt explained.

While she recalled getting to meet Disney princesses like Mulan and Moana as a little girl at the shareholder gatherings, as she got older, she found she had the bold opportunity to ask Iger that dream job question at a Q&A session. Going to the annual meeting and watching shareholder webcasts is how Borgstadt “fell in love” with all things Disney, she expressed on Thursday.

The college freshman maturely admitted that every company has its faults and may not be liked by everyone. While everyone is obligated to their own opinion, Borgstadt argued, she feels Disney “is in really good leadership hands” with Iger after previous CEO Bob Chapek abruptly left the company following a two-year tenure.

“I’m not in those meetings, I’m not hearing all those criticisms that they at the top level are dealing with,” she said, “but I, as a shareholder, trust in the leadership. Mr. Iger has had years of experience on his hands, and he’s worked with the company and he knows the company inside and out. And so I think as a shareholder, I just trust what’s going on and trust that they know how to deal with things and they know how to satisfy both the shareholder sides and the fan side.”

Iger’s advice to Borgstadt, she remembered, was to keep attending and participating in meetings, work hard in school and continue to learn about the business.

“[I’m] wanting to get my degree, wanting to learn from him through the shareholder meetings,’ the 18-year-old said. “That’s how I’ll stay involved with Disney.”

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